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TRIATHLON: Gone for a Burton

TEENAGER Miles Burton is targeting some of the world’s biggest junior competitions this year after earning a spot in British Triathlon’s World-Class Performance squad at the age of just 17.

The St Laurence School sixth form pupil, from Freshford, had previously been a member of Great Britain’s Olympic Talent squad but was last week announced as one of 15 athletes that will receive further receive UK Sport Lottery funding as part of the Podium Potential squad.

Burton, who is coached by his dad Steve alongside his brother Hayden, 16, and is also part of the national Talent Squad, now has his sights set on making waves in his second season as a junior and.

He hopes to make it to June’s European Junior Championships in Austria and this year’s World Junior Championships in Canada, in August.

“I’ve known that I might be going up (to the World-Class squad) for a little while but it’s nice that it’s happened now,” said Burton, who is the second-youngest ‘Podium Potential squad’ member in the programme.

“I’ll get better funding and I’ll also go off to train alongside the elite guys, which will be good.

“It’s important to keep improving every year and hopefully I’m doing that.

“I had a few top-ten finishes in European Cups last year and it was my first year as a junior.

“It was pretty tough racing against some of the 19-year-olds but hopefully this year, I’ll be able to do better.

“I want to try and get to the European juniors and the World juniors and I’ve got to do well at two qualification races to get there – that’s Blenheim, in June, and the Liverpool Triathlon, which is the British championships as well.”

Burton has been touted as a future Olympian, but the youngster is putting any talk of the Games to the back of his mind.

He added: “Rio 2016 is probably going to be too soon for me so I guess there’s the Olympics in 2020 (in Tokyo) but there’s no point in thinking about that yet,’’ he said.

“The 2015 World Championships are in Chicago and trying to win a medal there is the next big thing to aim for.”

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